Prologue: Cap’m CharlieWith his friend Inman Armholster, Charlie Croker hunts quail on his
Turpmtine Plantation. Charlie is keen on impressing the retinue of
on-lookers, including his gorgeous young wife Serena and Armholster's sexy
daughter Elizabeth.

Chapter 1: Chocolate Mecca

The characters Roger Too White, Fareek Fanon and Coach
McNutter are introduced. Additionally, a glimpse into the Freaknik festival is
provided, along with the racial tension that will be a central theme for the
remainder of the novel.

Chapter 2: The Saddlebags

Charlie goes to PlannersBanc for a meeting with the
workout team of which Harry Zale is the primary workout artiste. Zale dogs Charlie about the huge debts that he owes the bank from his
building projects. Using techniques like wearing suspenders with skulls and
crossbones and giving the unidigital salute, he gives Charlie “saddlebags,”
referring to the mammoth amounts of sweat from Charlie’s armpits that meet in
the middle of his chest.

Chapter 3: Turpmtine

Wismer “The Wiz” Stroock is introduced; he and Charlie fly to
his plantation after the humiliating workout
session at PlannersBanc. An intimate view is given of several aspects of the
story—Charlie’s thoughts, background information about the Wiz, the details of
the workout session, the extent of his debt, and a portrayal of Charlie as a
tough, stubborn character. With his bare hands Charlie captures and
single-handedly cages a huge rattlesnake, greatly impressing a large group of
his employees at Turpmtine.

Chapter 4: Beige Half-Brother

Wesley Dobbs Jordan meets with Roger White II to discuss
the alleged rape of Elizabeth Armholster. Jordan explains that he is running
against Andre Fleet in the upcoming election, and that the Fanon case could “rip
the city apart.”

Chapter 5: The Suicidal Freezer Unit

Conrad Hensley is introduced. His life, including
his job in the freezer unit for Croker Global Foods, begins to unfold. Conrad
becomes a hero by saving his co-worker Kenny from a terrible accident.
Conrad is then
laid off as a result of Charlie’s cost-saving tactic.

Chapter 6: In the Lair of the Lust

Charlie’s financial difficulties turn his focus
toward his own monetary waste exhibited throughout his lavishly decorated
Buckhead palace. Unable to sleep and desperately seeking manly adventure,
Charlie dresses for horseback riding intent on cooking himself a big
breakfast. Charlie unwittingly sets off the home security system,
which awakens the entire household to his considerable embarrassment.

Chapter 7: Hello Out There, 7-Eleven Land

Ray Peepgass laments his lonely existence in Apartment XXXA at Normandy Lea Apartments, the result of his illicit affair and
impregnation of Sirja and the dignified offense taken by his wife Betty.
Meanwhile, in his family’s duet apartment, Conrad overhears a fight between his
younger, hooker-attired Asian neighbor and her mother. Conrad proceeds to
recall his relationship with his own parents and their rejection of the
‘bourgeois life.’ He regrets the events which led him to his current situation,
envisioning what he could have become both athletically and educationally.

Chapter 8: The Lay of the Land

Wes Jordan takes Roger Too White on a tour to show the
contrast between the white and the black parts of Atlanta. After showing the
difference between the environments in which Elizabeth Armholster and Fareek
Fanon grew up in, Wes asks for Roger’s help in persuading Charlie to speak
publicly in favor of Fareek.

Chapter 9: The Superfluous Woman

This is the only chapter written from the viewpoint of
Martha Croker. She makes it poignantly clear that she feels superfluous.
Martha and Charlie, who has been cajoled by Serena, each decide to buy a table at the Lapeth exhibit.

Chapter 10: The Red Dog

Ray Peepgass, Harry Zale, and others at PlannersBanc
discuss what to do about Croker’s mountainous debt. While they talk,
Peepgass devises an illegal scheme. If the bank can force Croker to
hand over Croker Concourse by means of a deed-in-lieu-of-foreclosure, Peepgass could form
a syndicate, buy the building cheap, and then stand to make
millions. Ray lets his red dog loose by deciding boldly to pursue a risky
plan for the first time in his life. Dr. Emmo Nuchols examines Charlie’s knee
and recommends
knee replacement surgery.

Chapter 11: This is Not Right

Conrad faces one unlucky setback after the next in
his honest attempt to secure a job. Conrad discovers that because of his
manual labor experience, his hands have become too large for any sort of white collar work. External forces
seem to conspire against him in almost every way
imaginable.

Chapter 12: The Breeding Barn

Charlie takes his Turpmtine guests, including the
aptly named Richmans, to see First Draw, Charlie’s prize-winning horse, stud a
mare. After the excitement, Charlie is mortified when he accidentally
calls Herb Richman “Hebe” Richman. This gaffe nixes any chance of getting the
Richman’s DefinitionAmerica corporation headquarters to relocate to Croker
Concourse.

Chapter 13: The Arrest

PlannersBanc, headed by Peepgass and Zale, seizes Charlie’s
Gulfstream 5 jet amidst of all his guests. Peepgass’ red dog is unleashed in
all of its fury. Charlie destroys the engine of his own plane to spite his
adversaries, but fails to rescue his N.C. Wyeth painting from the plane.

Chapter 14: God’s Cosmic Joke

The sorted details of the “tawdry” love affair between
Raymond Peepgass and Sirja Tirmaki are revealed during the paternity hearing
over Master P. P. Peepgass. Meanwhile, Charlie’s financial straits worsen as caterer Colonel Popover arrives to collect
payment for his services. The
Colonel’s sweaty, corpulent tenacity nearly ruins a visit by representatives
of a potential Croker
Concourse tenant, VectorCom.

Chapter 15: The Rubber Room

Jill visits Conrad in the Santa Rita Rehabilitation Center.
She is horrified by the depraved behavior of women near her. Jill
scolds Conrad for refusing a plea bargain and going to prison just in order
to save his soul. Conrad is terrified when the Nordic Bund shot-caller Rotto
greets him. Conrad receives a book that does not seem to be the novel he
asked Jill to send him. When a guard brutally rips the hardback cover off of the book
Conrad’s cellmate Mutt recalls how at another prison, when he was seventeen, he
made a cardboard shank to blind an inmate who
had raped him. In recounting his traumatic story, Mutt’s mind snaps, he goes
berserk, the guards electrocute him, and he is removed to the Rubber Room for
psychotic inmates.

Chapter 16: Gotcha Back

Charlie and Serena go to Wilson Lapeth’s exhibition.
Charlie offers Inman Armholster his help in Elizabeth’s rape scandal. Also,
Roger Too White visits the Church of the Sheltering Arms to spy on André Fleet.

Chapter 17: Epictetus Comes to Da House

A detailed and horrifying description of Conrad’s prison
life is presented. Conrad begins reading The Stoics: The Complete Writings
of Epictetus, Marcus Aurelius, Musonius Rufus, and Zeno.

Chapter 18: The Aha! Phenomenon

Charlie and Serena Croker, Ray Peepgass, Martha Croker, and
the rest of the prominent people in Atlanta are at the High Museum for the
Wilson Lapeth exhibit. At the opening, Ray gets liquored up and makes friends
with Herb Richman and Julius Licht. At the end of the show, Martha and Charlie
bump into each other and exchange pleasantries. Ray approaches Martha and tells
her there is something that he wants to run by her. He asks for her phone
number and Martha obliges.

Chapter 19: The Trial

The scene shifts back to Santa Rita prison, where Pocahontas is
attacked and raped by Rotto and his gang. No one in the pod, other than Conrad,
even attempts to assist Pocahontas after he is brutalized. Rotto confronts Conrad, who uses his mouth
and then the strength of his hands to subdue Rotto.

Chapter 20: Mai’s Army

An earthquake tears Santa Rita apart, and Conrad escapes
after saving Five-O’s life. Conrad gets help from Kenny, who hooks
him up with a lady named Mai. Mai sends the fugitive Conrad to a new life in Atlanta.

Chapter 21: The Real Buckhead

The rumor about Elizabeth and Fareek is released on the
Internet. Wes Jordan reveals his plan for Charlie to Roger Too White. Ray
travels to Martha’s house in his embarrassing Ford Escort, leaving it out of
sight and finishing the trip on foot. He delightedly devours delicious
freshly baked bread amidst the luxuries of Martha’s house while discussing his
financial scheme with her.

Chapter 22: Chambodia

Conrad, having arrived in Chambodia, receives his new
identity (Cornelius Alonzo DeCasi), finds a meal, and hunts for a job via the classified section of a newspaper.
Additionally, the details of Raymond Peepgass’ syndicate fall into place as he
lures Herb Richman, of Definition America fame, and Harvey Wyndham, a Bahamian
real estate broker, into the fold. Roger Too White
conducts the press conference on Fareek Fanon’s behalf, fatefully mentioning the
tarantulas and English Avenue.

Chapter 23: The Deal

Roger Too White wakes up the morning after the first press
conference regarding the unofficial defense of Fareek Fanon regretting his
implied statements against some of the white establishment. Yet, this action is
well received by members of the African American community, as well as the law
firm for which he works. He visits Charlie at Croker Concourse to offer
financial aid in return for his support of Fareek at a future press conference.
The logic here is that Charlie’s support will bear significant weight because of
his status as a member of the white establishment and similar football
background. Peepgass begins to work on his own deal, forming a syndicate to buy
Croker Concourse after Charlie’s financial demise. As an initial step, he takes
Martha Croker out to an expensive dinner, and considers the benefits and
disadvantages of continuing a relationship with her.

Charlie’s dirty deal with Darwell Scruggs is revealed via a
video from Zale. Afterwards, Charlie decides to participate in the press
conference in order to get PlannersBanc off of his back. Following a discussion with Kenny, Conrad learns that the FBI is looking for
him.

Chapter 26: Holding Hands

Arthur Lomprey and PlannersBanc decide to suspend
pressuring Charlie
for a while because of a macrodecision. This enrages Peepgass as it alters his
personal plans for the syndicate to buy Croker Concourse. Martha and Ray attend the Atlanta Symphony at the Woodruff Arts
Center, where Roger and Henrietta White are also in attendance. During the
concert, Ray holds Martha’s hand for the first time. After the performance,
Roger thinks everyone is looking at him, recognizing him as the defender of Fareek Fanon.

Chapter 27: The Screen

While in surgery and under heavy medication, Charlie becomes depressed,
contemplates
suicide, and wants only to hide. He does not want to face the world, the
bank, his debts, his family, his mistakes, or even himself. Charlie simply wants to
hide behind the screen of his injured knee as long as he can. Conrad rents
a room at Sister’n’Brother Munger’s Hello Again antique store.

Chapter 28: The Spark of Zeus

Conrad miraculously discovers a copy of his cherished book, The Stoics, in his room at
Hello Again. Meanwhile, Roger White finds Charlie in the hospital and
threatens to sic PlannersBanc on him if Charlie does not do his part at the Mayor’s
press conference. Conrad, now working as a health aide and armed with his
bible, The Stoics, is inspired to
defend the Gardners—the retired couple for whom he is running errands—from a
neighborhood thug, “the greaser.”

Chapter 29: Epictetus in Buckhead

Charlie moves home from the hospital in his lowest, most
desolate state. Conrad is hired to help Charlie. Conrad introduces
Charlie to
Epictetus’ Stoicism.

Chapter 30: The Bull and the Lion

Ray Peepgass and Martha Croker provide insight into
their developing relationship, which now includes “fantasy” sexual activity.
Roger Too White visits Charlie at his Buckhead residence again to pressure him into
speaking on Fareek’s behalf at the press conference. After White’s departure,
Conrad details Stoicism for Charlie, who finds that this philosophy addresses
the conundrums plaguing his own life.

Chapter 31: Roger Black

Roger visits Wes Jordan and they discuss the joy of
politics, which lies not in money or power, but rather in the ability to make
others “jump.” Since Roger’s involvement in the Fareek Fanon/Elizabeth
Armholster rape scandal, he has enjoyed recognition from the African American
community. Charlie and his entourage drive down to Turpmtine where Serena tries
to convince Charlie that the right thing to do regarding his situation with
Roger Too White is to follow through with it. Her advice is based on
Elizabeth’s supposedly wild and possibly promiscuous social behavior. Conrad and
Charlie discuss the matter, and Conrad offers Agrippinus as an example of a
Stoic response in a similar situation.

Chapter 32: The Manager

After making an introductory speech at the televised press
conference, Wes Jordan asks Charlie to offer his own opinion about Fareek.
Contrary to what the Mayor and Roger expect, Charlie describes Fareek as
arrogant and obnoxious, thus voiding his “deal” with Roger and Mayor Jordan concerning PlannersBanc. In his speech, Charlie demonstrates his new dedication Stoicism.

Epilogue: A Man of the WorldMayor Jordan is re-elected by a very narrow margin. Charlie gives up all his
wealth and becomes a Stoic evangelist with a syndicated television show.
Conrad returns to California, turns himself in to the authorities, and gets
two years’ probation. Peepgass marries Martha Croker. Roger White
looks to have a bright future in politics.